Gerard Pique and Shakira have denied claims they are being blackmailed over a sex video by a former employee.

Spanish newspaper el Diario Vasco reported that the Barcelona star and his Colombian superstar wife have been threatened with the dissemination of an intimate video of the pair if they don’t part with a significant sum of hush money.

The reports are also now circling around Shakira’s native South America, but a source close to the star told the Mirror: "This is a very random report and completely untrue."

Pique's agent has also denied the claims, but Spanish football is already facing a major blackmail case, with Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema the subject of an investigation into the attempted extortion of international teammate Mathieu Valbuena over another sex tape.